Better liability protection, stronger tax incentives, and standardised reporting: The new Global Food Donation Policy Atlas report from Austria reinforces the need for stronger cross-sector collaboration to turn policy into practice
Last year in Vienna, Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) and the Global FoodBanking Network (GFN), in collaboration with FEBA and our member Die Tafel Österreich, launched the Policy Atlas Austria project. Now, the report is finished and published; however, the work continues.
The new Global Food Donation Policy Atlas report reviews Austria’s recent progress and identifies opportunities to further strengthen its food donation and food waste reduction policy frameworks.
The Policy Atlas Europe Series: identifying challenges and opportunities for food donation across the FEBA member countries in Europe
The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas is a collaboration between the Food Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School, The Global FoodBanking Network, and in Europe, the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA). To date in Europe, the Atlas has reported on the food waste policies in Ireland, Poland, Greece, France, and Austria.
The project identifies national laws and policies that support or hinder food donation and offers recommendations to strengthen legal frameworks and fill policy gaps.
Perspectives from Austria: clearer rules and more cross-sector cooperation across the food supply chain are needed
Alexandra Gruber, Managing Director of Die Tafel Österreich, emphasises that the organisation has advocated for better food rescuing conditions in Austria for years. The new report reinforces their previous demands regarding the need for liability protection and stronger collaboration between policymakers and different actors across the food chain.
One key point Alexandra Gruber highlights is the lack of nationwide, standardised guidelines on food safety in Austria, which are already widely present in other countries. It is also essential to improve the liability protection of food donors and charities to encourage food redistribution. Unclear guidance hinders progress.
Gruber mentions CSRD reporting: Donors need to understand at which stages of their value chain food waste occurs. For example, in Austria, large quantities of food are lost in retail returns, which are currently not reported. Some fruits and vegetables are disposed of because they don’t meet the strict cosmetic standards, even if they are perfectly edible.
New challenges ahead also include commercial food rescue initiatives: the food banks and charitable organisations face difficulties receiving enough food to be redistributed due to this competition for surplus food.
Recommendations from Harvard: better coordination, standardised reporting and stronger incentives
The new report finds Austria’s work in removing tax barriers promising but identifies the need for stronger incentives to encourage, especially the donors in the agricultural sector.
One suggestion to foster cooperation is to create a joint platform to bring together government, businesses, and charities to coordinate efforts to reduce food waste. Clear guidance and stronger protection for food donors and charities would lower the barriers to donating and redistributing food.
Austria would also benefit from more standardised reporting requirements to collect better data on where food is lost and wasted across the supply chain. Including new areas where reporting is not currently mandatory, like in retail returns, would give a clearer overview of the overall situation.
FEBA a proud partner in turning research into impactful policies and practises across Europe
Policy Atlas reports support the food banking sector with real-life evidence and suggestions to support dialogue and advocacy with national and EU-level policymakers. Reports compare national frameworks and best practices across FEBA Member countries, providing information on tailored support the countries need and what they can learn from each other.
Die Tafel Österreich is already playing an active role in developing Austria’s food donation and food waste prevention system, maintaining an ongoing dialogue with government officials and stakeholders across the country.
Learn more & explore
- The Global Picture: View how Austria compares to its neighbors on the European Union Interactive Map – The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas.
- Legal Guide: Discover the full report on policy recommendations in Austria.
